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42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 24, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2004 Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. John Howard of Medford says he worries that repercussions over abuse of Iraqi prisoners will put his son, a reservist stationed east of Baghdad, at greater risk. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Disgusted by images Abuse of prisoners distresses local leaders By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Political leaders and military veterans in Jackson County expressed disgust over images of the humiliating abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of smiling American soldiers. "It just makes me sick to my stomach," said Bryan Platt, chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party. "We’ve lowered ourselves to their level at this point." Retired Navy Cmdr. John Howard of Medford said he worries about repercussions against his son, who is stationed east of Baghdad. "Anyone who has worn or will wear the uniform will condemn (the abuse)," he said. Republicans and Democrats alike say they are disgusted by accounts and photos of torture in the Abu Ghraib prison. They also agree the situation could hurt President Bush’s re-election campaign. Advertisement Platt said the political fallout already has taken its toll in polls that show a majority of Americans no longer supporting the war. "I don’t think there is any doubt it is hurting the president," he said. "It’s ugly. Anyone who says it’s not has their head in the sand." He said it is particularly distressing since the Red Cross had been warning of widespread abuse of prisoners, leaving open the potential for more revelations in the coming days. Still, he doesn’t think the situation points to an overall policy of abuse on the part of the entire military. "I want to believe this is just the work of a few individuals who just lost it," he said. While not justifying the soldiers’ treatment of Iraqi prisoners, Platt said many of the prison guards didn’t receive proper training or were assigned to jobs they weren’t prepared for. And despite his disgust over the abuse, Platt said he understands that interrogation of prisoners is sometimes necessary. Platt still supports the war, even though there are questions about whether weapons of mass destruction exist. "We got rid of one weapon of mass destruction," he said, referring to Saddam Hussein. He said Iraq at one point had weapons of mass destruction, and that the regime showed a willingness to use them. Bill Layton, chairman of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, condemned an administration that he says set the stage for the abuses. "The responsibility starts at the top," he said. "The leader sets the tone for the situation. George Bush has essentially set a lawless tone for the administration." Layton referred to statements by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2002 that the Geneva Conventions don’t apply to so-called enemy combatants. This has created a mood where "anything goes," Layton said. Rumsfeld also has said the troops had been properly trained. "They were not," he said. What these photos have done, he said, is undermine the United States in the eyes of the world. "Internationally, we are below ground zero in terms of moral leadership," he said. "There is no excuse for this kind of treatment of people." Layton, who served in the Army in World War II, remembers troops spending a lot of time discussing the Geneva Conventions and how they applied to prisoners. "This is close to the Nazis in the German camps," he said. "It isn’t quite as bad, I suppose. They’ve only killed a few people." Howard, recalling his own naval career, discounted these sort of broad indictments of the military. "This is an aberration," he said. "This does not normally happen." In his experience, Howard said, only a small number of troops would likely take part in this kind of abuse. "It’s bad news for the folks who are perpetrating these kind of abuses," he said. "It’s bad news for the chain of command. But I’m not sure it goes all the way to the top." Howard believes the United States will completely investigate the allegations, unlike other nations throughout the world. "This kind of stuff happens across the U.S. in military or civilian jails," he said. "It gets a different level of magnification when it is in Iraq." Howard worries that the Arab community will be in an uproar over the photos, endangering his son, Army reservist James Howard, who is stationed east of Baghdad. "It puts my son at greater risk," he said. His son believes that his job is not to kill Iraqis, but to help promote freedom and democracy, said Howard. In an e-mail this week, James Howard told his father he was given prayer beads by one of the town elders as thanks for the work soldiers had been doing there. Little Applegate resident Dan Davis, a 61-year-old Vietnam veteran, puts the blame for the prison abuse on President Bush. "A commander is always responsible for what does or doesn’t happen in his command," he said. "The chain of command in our country absolutely begins and ends with the president." Davis said that when he was in the Army, he was given a wallet card with the Geneva Convention rules and a code of conduct in case he found himself guarding prisoners of war. Davis said he spent 18 days in a Saudi jail in 1982 on trumped-up spy charges while working for General Electric but was treated humanely. A Democrat, Davis expects the accounts of torture will hurt Bush’s chances this November. "As well it should hurt him," he said. "He is commander in chief." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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